Ellen Barkin Siblings: All About George Barkin

Ellen Rona Barkin, born on April 16, 1954, in the Bronx, New York City, is an acclaimed American actress and film producer.

Raised in a middle-class Jewish family with roots tracing back to Siberia and the Polish-Ukrainian border region, she grew up in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens after her family moved there.

Her father, Sol Barkin, worked as a chemical salesman and part-time usher at Yankee Stadium, while her mother, Evelyn Rozin Barkin, was a hospital administrator at Jamaica Hospital.

Barkin developed an early interest in acting, attending Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts and later studying drama at Hunter College and the Actors Studio.

Over her decades-long career, she has become recognized for her versatile performances in film, television, and theater, often portraying complex, edgy characters.

Siblings

Ellen has one known sibling, an older brother named George Barkin, who has maintained a notable presence in the media industry.

George served as the editor-in-chief of both National Lampoon and High Times magazines.

The siblings collaborated professionally in 2005 when they co-founded Applehead Pictures, an independent film production company, alongside Ellen’s then-husband Ronald Perelman.

Career

Barkin’s career began on the stage in New York with productions like “Irish Coffee” in 1980 and the off-Broadway hit “Extremities,” before transitioning to television with a role on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow.”

Her breakthrough came in 1982 with Barry Levinson’s comedy-drama “Diner,” where she played the unappreciated wife in an ensemble cast, earning critical praise for her authentic portrayal.

This led to starring roles in films such as “Tender Mercies” (1983) opposite Robert Duvall, “Eddie and the Cruisers” (1983), and the cult classic “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” (1984).

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She gained further prominence in the late 1980s with thrillers like “The Big Easy” (1986) alongside Dennis Quaid and “Sea of Love” (1989) with Al Pacino, establishing her as a leading lady known for her sultry, intelligent characters.

The 1990s saw her in diverse projects, including the gender-bending comedy “Switch” (1991), the drama “This Boy’s Life” (1993) with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, “Wild Bill” (1995) as Calamity Jane, “The Fan” (1996), “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998), and the dark comedy “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (1999).

Into the 2000s, she appeared in “Crime and Punishment in Suburbia” (2000), “Palindromes” (2004), “Trust the Man” (2005), “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007), “Brooklyn’s Finest” (2009), and “The Cobbler” (2014).

On television, Barkin delivered powerful performances in made-for-TV movies like “Before Women Had Wings” (1997) and “The White River Kid” (1999), while later taking on series roles as Jane Forrest in the NBC sitcom “The New Normal” (2012-2013), Dani Kirschenbloom in Showtime’s “Happyish” (2015), and the iconic matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody in TNT’s “Animal Kingdom” (2016-2019).

More recent work includes films such as “Hands of Stone” (2016), “Active Adults” (2017), “Breaking News in Yuba County” (2021), “The Man from Toronto” (2022), and “The Out-Laws” (2023), along with a guest spot on “Poker Face” (2023).

Beyond acting, she ventured into production with Applehead Pictures, contributing to films like “Letters to Juliet” (2010).

Accolades

In 1998, Barkin won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her role as the abusive mother Glory Marie Jackson in “Before Women Had Wings,” along with a Golden Satellite Award in the same category and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.

Her Broadway debut in 2011 as Dr. Emma Brookner in “The Normal Heart” brought her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, as well as an Outer Critics Circle special achievement award.

Barkin received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her leading role in “Switch” (1992).

Other honors include a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress in an Adventure/Drama for “The Fan” (1997), nominations from the Chicago Film Critics Association for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for “Sea of Love” and “Johnny Handsome,” and a Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actress in 1988.

She was also nominated for a CableACE Award in 1989 for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for “Blood Money,” and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 Savannah Film Festival for her contributions to the performing arts.